BANGOR, Maine – The Husson University men's basketball team used a big 17-2 first half run and got a fourth-straight 20-point performance from senior Eric Ahlers to pick up an 85-77 North Atlantic Conference victory over SUNY Cobleskill on Tuesday afternoon inside Newman Gymnasium.
Much like yesterday's contest, Husson (7-5, 6-1 NAC) was battled tightly by its New York foe, but was able to find a big scoring run after the midway point of the first half to take a big advantage into halftime.
A three-pointer from the Fighting Tigers (4-9, 3-4 NAC) with 7:30 remaining in the opening half brought the score to 21-18, but from that point on it was all Eagles.
Senior Ty Henke carried his hot shooting into the second day of the back-to-back, as his back-to-back three-pointers got the spurt started, while Husson also got seven points from Ahlers and two points each from senior Gil Matondo and junior Andre McCauley to cap off the 17-2 run that lasted nearly five minutes.
Husson was able to take as much as a 20-point lead before the half was over and carried a 47-29 edge into the halftime break.
Henke led the way off the bench in the opening frame with 13, including three shots from beyond the arc, while Ahlers totaled 11 points and six rebounds and sophomore Connor Heald recorded 10 points and two steals.
Although the Eagles never led by fewer than 10 points for the majority of the second half, Cobleskill showed a lot of fight, getting the deficit down to 72-62 with 5:24 remaining, but a quick 10-0 run from Husson matched its biggest lead of the game.
The Fighting Tigers continued to battle and closed within eight points inside the final 10 seconds of the game, but the damage from Husson had already been done in the first half, allowing it to hang on for the sweep of the SUNY schools.
Ahlers led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, while also adding 13 rebounds for his second-consecutive double-double, in addition to dishing out four assists and recording two steals.
Heald poured in 19 points and McCauley wasn't far behind with 18 points and five assists, in addition to Henke rounding out the double-figure scoring with his 13 first half points.
Matondo played another well-rounded game with eight points, five rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocks, as Husson shot an identical 15-36 in both halves, but managed two more three-pointers and seven more free throws in the first half.
Points off turnovers were crucial for the Eagles, as they scored 24 points off 17 Cobleskill turnovers and recorded 17 assists on 30 made baskets.
Husson returns to play on Saturday when it begins a back-to-back in Vermont, as it begins with a NAC championship game rematch at Vermont State University Johnson at 1 p.m.
